Chiropractor or Hospital for Whiplash?

Who should I listen to, the Hospital or the Chiropractor?

A car crash can cause a lot of problems ranging from minor to quite severe.  If the injuries are significant enough, a trip to the hospital may be in order.  When you arrive at the hospital, there are a series of evaluations that are performed as well as imaging.  The imaging can be a traditional x-ray all the way up to an MRI.  In contrast, a chiropractor’s office has their series of evaluations as well as imaging. So Chiropractor or Hospital. Which is better for whiplash? Both are doing their best to determine how injured you are.  So really, you should listen to both.

The next question that is commonly asked is, “Why is the hospital saying that I’m fine and the chiropractor is saying that I’m not?”  Answering that question is actually pretty simple.  We are looking for different things.  I know that doesn’t sound glamorous, but it really is the case.

The classic scenario of two detectives trying to solve the same case.

Let’s break it down into easier terms.  A hospital has the responsibility of making sure that the injuries that you got from the crash are not ones that will kill, or permanently maim you if you don’t do anything about.  These are injuries such as broken bones, internal bleeding, dislocations, foreign objects, and just about anything that one could imagine would require someone to go to the hospital.  What they are not looking for are the small things that can cause permanent problems a few years down the road.

The latter list is one that can include, misalignment, soft tissue injuries such as a sprain/strain, fixations of joints, decreased functionality of the whole body, and acute symptoms such as headaches, neck pain, back pain, and numbness of extremities.  The list is incomplete, but gives the idea of what a chiropractor looks for.  Both serve a very specific purpose, and ultimately are working toward the same goal, your health.

An interesting observation that I have experienced in my practice is that the local hospital doesn’t take the same films that we do in the practice.  Again, it isn’t that one is better than the other, it’s that we are looking for different things.  In fact, as an upper cervical specific chiropractic practice, we take films that rarely are taken by anyone other than an upper cervical office.

So in the times that you may have the unfortunate experience of getting in a car crash, the knowledge of why different exams should give you the confidence that both places are looking very specifically at the possible injuries that you may have acquired at every level possible.

If there are other questions that you may have regarding the process of a car crash recovery, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 435-674-7515.  If you have been involved in a crash in St. George, or Washington County, time is of the essence.  Contact our office immediately to schedule a consultation to determine if your crash really did injure you.  If you want to receive a FREE copy of our book “A Victim’s Survival Guide to Whiplash Injury”, then click on the link and we will send you a pdf copy immediately.  Click Here for your FREE Copy